This creamy avocado chicken salad piles shredded chicken and hard boiled eggs over crisp romaine with a sherry herb vinaigrette, at 2.3g net carbs and 25.8g protein, no mayo anywhere. I whisk the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and herbs together and drizzle it over the platter just before serving, and lemon or lime juice stands in for the vinegar when the bottle runs out.
I make this chicken and avocado salad at least twice a week, and it’s the meal that keeps me from grabbing something I shouldn’t when my schedule gets chaotic. It comes together in about 5 minutes if you have leftover chicken ready to go, which I almost always do. It’s the same idea as my one minute pizza bowl or my grilled cheese sandwich: keep the prep minimal so staying keto isn’t a battle.
What makes this more than just chicken on lettuce is the combination of textures. Creamy avocado, firm hard boiled eggs, juicy tomato wedges, and crisp romaine all in one bowl. I toss on a sherry herb vinaigrette instead of mayo because I like the brightness of it, and honestly it just tastes cleaner. No heavy dressing weighing everything down.
The macros are what sold me on making this a regular rotation meal. 25.8 grams of protein per serving from the chicken and eggs combined, plus the healthy monounsaturated fat from the avocado keeps me satisfied for hours. Avocado also brings fiber and potassium, which I notice makes a real difference on keto when electrolytes can run low.
I serve this as a low carb lunch most of the time, but it’s substantial enough for dinner too. Sometimes I’ll skip the plate entirely and wrap everything in butter lettuce cups, or stuff it into halved avocados for a different presentation. Either way, this is the kind of simple meal that I come back to because it actually tastes like something I want to eat, not something I’m forcing down because it fits my macros.
How to make it even lower carb
I’ve played with the ratios on this salad quite a bit depending on where I am with my carb budget for the day. Here’s what I adjust:
Use half the avocado. A whole medium avocado has about 2 grams of net carbs, which isn’t much split across 4 servings. But if I’m stacking this with other meals that have avocado, I’ll cut back to a quarter per serving.
Cut the tomatoes in half or skip them. One medium tomato runs 3.3 grams of net carbs. I usually halve the amount, but on strict days I leave them out entirely and don’t miss them much.
Storage tips and meal prep
I learned pretty fast that dressing this salad ahead of time is a mistake. The vinaigrette wilts the romaine within a couple hours, and nobody wants soggy lettuce.
What I do instead for meal prep: I layer the chicken, eggs, and tomatoes into mason jars or containers, then keep the vinaigrette in a separate small jar. When I’m ready to eat, I dump it onto a plate, drizzle the dressing, and it tastes just as fresh as the day I prepped it. I’ve gotten 3 days out of prepped jars this way with no issues. The avocado stays whole in the fridge until I’m ready to eat, then I slice it fresh so it never has a chance to brown.
Chop and slice all of your ingredients as stated above.
2
Assemble salad
In a large platter or serving bowl, lay down a bed of lettuce. Top with chopped chicken, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado and hard boiled eggs.
3
Make salad dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad.
Nutrition
Calories
394
Fat
30.6g
Protein
25.8g
Total carbs
6.3g
Fiber
4g
Net carbs
2.3g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add mayo to this avocado chicken salad?
I skip mayo because the avocado gives you that same creamy richness without it. But I've tested a version with a tablespoon of mayo mixed in, and it works if that's what you prefer. I just find the sherry vinaigrette keeps the whole salad lighter and lets the avocado flavor come through more.
What's the best way to prevent the avocado from turning brown?
I squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice over the avocado slices right after cutting. That buys me about 4-5 hours before any browning starts. For meal prep, I leave the avocado whole and slice it fresh when I'm ready to eat. I've tried the "pit in the bowl" trick and storing with onion, and honestly the citrus juice works best.
What chicken should I use for this salad?
Any cooked chicken works here. I batch cook chicken breasts in my Instant Pot every Sunday, cooked through to 165 degrees, which gives me shredded chicken ready for the whole week. Rotisserie from the deli is the easiest option, and pan seared thighs sliced thin give you more flavor and a bit more fat. Canned chicken works in a pinch too. I drain it well and break it up with a fork, though the texture is softer than shredded breast and blends into the salad differently.
How long does this salad keep, and can I freeze it?
The undressed components keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the chicken and eggs on their own hold up to 4 days. The key is keeping the vinaigrette separate until you're ready to eat. Once dressed, I'd eat it within an hour or two before the lettuce starts wilting. I wouldn't freeze the assembled salad because the lettuce and avocado turn to mush once thawed. What I do freeze is the cooked chicken in portions, then build fresh salads as I need them. The chicken thaws in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water in about 30 minutes.
I remember my aunt making this when I was a kid, just chicken and avocado on greens with whatever vinaigrette she had going in the cabinet. Went keto two years ago and this kind of lunch fell off my radar, not because it didn’t fit, I think I just forgot it existed. Made it last week and the sherry vinegar does exactly what her dressing used to, cuts through the fat from the avocado and egg yolks so nothing sits heavy. The acid is doing the work, not just adding brightness. Made it four times now. Each time I’m a little surprised how much a simple lunch can feel like it has history to it. The Bragg’s keeps it from tipping too sharp, rounds it out the way dried herbs should.
Ripe avocado has a different weight on the fork. Underripe and you’re just adding crunch. At the right point it folds into the sherry vinegar dressing and the salad clicks. One note: the Bragg’s range is vague. I do the full two teaspoons or the herbs disappear against the vinegar.
2.3 net carbs made me stop and actually read this one. I made it with leftover chicken and if you shred it by hand rather than chopping, the pulled texture grabs the dressing more evenly, worth the extra minute. This reminds me of the chopped salad I used to order every Thursday at the deli near my old job, same layered situation with egg and avocado. Four stars only because the tomato goes watery fast if you assemble more than an hour ahead. Separate container if you’re meal prepping this.
Tomato is the one thing I haven’t solved for this one either, Denise. I seed mine before adding and it helps some, but past an hour assembled you’re right, separate container. The hand-shred tip is good, the pulled texture really does catch more of that vinaigrette.
Hosted a few coworkers for lunch last month and put this out alongside a couple other things. Three people asked about the dressing before they’d finished their first helping, which is not usually what I get from a salad. The sherry vinegar with that herb blend makes it taste more put-together than a two-minute vinaigrette should. Already on the calendar.
Three people asking about the dressing before they’ve finished their plate is a good sign. Sherry vinegar does that, people can’t quite place why it tastes more interesting than it should.
I gave up on lunch pretty early into keto. Just whatever was fast. This broke that open, avocado and egg together do something I keep coming back to, and it’s actually filling in a way that caught me off guard. Made it three days in a row before I noticed. 2.3 net carbs.
Three days in a row without realizing says everything. Avocado fat plus egg protein together does something for actual hunger that’s hard to replicate that low.
Made this for lunch yesterday when it was too hot to even think about turning the oven on, and my son (who treats anything labeled ‘salad’ as a personal attack) cleaned his plate and asked if we had the stuff to make it again. I think the hard boiled eggs and shredded chicken make it feel like a real meal to him rather than just a salad.
Made this on a hot Sunday when the last thing I wanted was to turn on the stove. My daughter, who normally picks around the avocado in everything, ate her whole bowl and asked if we could have it again before the week was out.
Avocado avoiders converting is the best. The sliced format probably helps, it kind of blends into everything once dressed vs. sitting there as a big chunk.
I’ve been doing Sunday meal prep lately, trying to actually have something good ready for weekday lunches. This one caught my eye because it’s so fast. Main question: the avocado. Does it need to be sliced fresh each day, or is there a way to keep it from browning if I assemble everything the night before? I was planning to prep the chicken, eggs, and dressing ahead and keep them separate. But I don’t want brown avocado by Wednesday. Also wondering how the romaine holds up with dressing on it overnight. Soggy lettuce on Monday morning is not the goal.
Slice the avocado fresh. Lemon or lime juice gives you maybe 4-5 hours before it browns, not overnight. The romaine is the same story, it goes limp if dressed more than an hour or two ahead. What I’d do: prep the chicken, eggs, and dressing Sunday, keep them all separate, and just slice the avocado and dress right before you eat. Two minutes on a Monday morning.
Added crumbled bacon on top because I had some leftover from breakfast, and it ended up being the best part. The saltiness against the avocado and that vinaigrette is a combination I’m not getting over. Making it again this week with the bacon built in from the start.
Bacon was my first thought when I developed this vinaigrette. That sherry vinegar has enough brightness to stand up to something salty and fatty, which most dressings don’t. Never made it into the official recipe because I was trying to keep the ingredient list tight, but clearly that was a mistake. Cook it really crispy if you’re building it in from the start. Soft bacon against avocado is just mush, you need the crunch to make the contrast work.
The sherry vinegar dressing is what gets me every single time. Made this probably six times now and it’s still the only lunch I actually look forward to on a Monday.
Sherry vinegar sounded weird to me so I almost just used regular red wine vinegar instead. Glad I didn’t. There’s this slightly nutty brightness to it that cuts through the avocado in a way I wasn’t expecting, and with the hard boiled eggs it all just works. Made it three times in the last two weeks, which is not normal for me with salads.
Three times in two weeks for a salad is a lot. The sherry against the egg yolks is the part people don’t expect – same fat-cutting thing as with the avocado.
Most keto chicken salads taste the same to me, but the sherry vinaigrette here actually sets this one apart. That brightness against the avocado is unlike any version I’ve had. I’d add more hard boiled eggs, but that’s an easy fix.
Used rotisserie chicken and this was on the table in five minutes flat. The sherry vinegar dressing is what I keep coming back to, sharper than regular red wine vinegar and it cuts right through the avocado.
I’ve been skeptical of salads as actual lunch because I’m always hungry again an hour later, but the eggs and avocado together kept me full through the afternoon. First time I’ve made a vinaigrette from scratch too (the sherry vinegar was the part I almost skipped), and it took maybe five minutes. This is going into the weekly lunch rotation.
The sherry vinegar is always the one people almost skip. Glad you didn’t. And yeah, 25g protein plus avocado fat is exactly why it holds through the afternoon. Different category than a lettuce-forward salad.
Never used sherry vinegar before and almost swapped it for red wine vinegar, but decided to just follow the recipe. That brightness cuts through the avocado in a way I didn’t expect. Might add red onion next time, but solid for a first attempt.
I didn’t have sherry vinegar so I used red wine vinegar and squeezed half a lemon in too (was bracing myself for a mess honestly) and the dressing came out sharper and brighter than I expected, like it cut right through the avocado instead of getting lost in it. Three days in a row this week for lunch. On day two I laid down crispy bacon under the avocado slices and I need you to know this is non-negotiable for me now. The bacon plus the hard boiled eggs plus the creamy avocado is something else entirely, way more filling than I thought this salad would be. Also used leftover rotisserie chicken and it shredded perfectly, just noting that in case anyone else is too lazy to cook chicken from scratch specifically for a salad.
Bacon under the avocado is going in my notes. Red wine vinegar plus lemon makes sense, the sherry is more mellow so the swap sharpens it up. Rotisserie is what I grab 90% of the time honestly.
Tripling this for a team lunch Thursday and I’ve made enough big-batch salads to know the dressing is where things go sideways. I keep coming back to the sherry vinegar ratio (equal parts vinegar to oil is pretty acidic) and I’m not sure whether to scale straight across with triple the romaine to coat. Does acidity distribute differently on a big platter, or is this just a straight-multiply situation? Also assembling Thursday morning and transporting, so curious about the avocado. How long does it hold once fully built? Dress right before serving, or does it travel okay already assembled?
Same ratio no matter the batch size. Acidity doesn’t shift with scale, but 3/4 cup sherry vinegar is a lot so I’d build to taste (start at 2/3 cup, adjust). Romaine on a platter gets uneven coverage anyway, so keep extra dressing on the side.
Avocado: lemon juice right after slicing. Holds 4-5 hours. Transport assembled but undressed, toss on-site. Once it’s dressed the romaine softens fast.
